Ah, to be on the fair side of thirty once more, she thought, admiring Dave’s fair hair, bronzed skin, full lips, and white teeth. He must be quite a hit with the girls, she decided, reminding herself that she had a job to do. “Has anybody seen Old Dan around town?” she asked.

“Come to think of it, no,” said the guy with glasses.

“And your name is?” she replied.

“Brian Donahue.”

“Do you think something happened to him?” she asked the stout guy, who was cupping his hands around his eyes and trying to see through the small window set in the door.

“Whaddya see, Frank?” inquired Dave. He turned to Lucy. “That’s Frank Cahill. You’d never know it, but he plays the organ at the church.”

“Is he inside? Did he have a heart attack or something?” asked Brian.

Frank shook his head. “Can’t see nothing wrong. It looks the same as always.”

“Same as always, except we’re not inside,” said Brian.

“Hey, maybe we’re in some sort of alternate universe. You know what I mean. We’re really in the Bilge in the real world, having our morning pick-me-up just like usual, but we’re also in this parallel world, where we’re in the parking lot,” said Dave.

The other two looked at each other. “You better stick to beer, boy,” said Frank, with a shake of his head. “Them drugs do a job on your brain.”

“What am I supposed to do?” replied the rocker. “It’s riot my fault if Old Dan is closed, is it? A guy’s gotta have something. Know what I mean?”

“You could try staying sober,” said Lucy.

All three looked at her as if she were crazy.

“Or find another bar,” she added.

“The others don’t open ’til noon,” said Brian. “Town bylaw.”

“Old Dan has a special dispensation?” she asked.

The others laughed. “You could say that,” said Dave, with a bit of an edge in his voice. “He sure doesn’t play by the same rules as the rest of us.”

“Special permission. That’s good,” said Brian.

“Yeah, like from the pope,” said Frank, slapping his thigh. “I’ll have to tell that one to Father Ed.” He checked his watch. “Come to think of it, I wonder where he is? He usually stops in around now.”